


something in the woods (tonight)

by sparkleeye



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Banter, Drabble, Dumb boys being dumb, Ghosts? Monsters? Who knows what it is, Kissing, M/M, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 04:51:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14073270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparkleeye/pseuds/sparkleeye
Summary: quote prompt - someone else's prompt i thought was mine before realizing that it was... not. via rarsablack on tumblr.person a: i’m pretty sure it was a ghost.person b: i’m pretty sure it’s not.person a: oh really?person b: ghosts don’t bleed.





	something in the woods (tonight)

**Author's Note:**

> so i didn't even realize this wasn't my assigned prompt until i wrote the whole damn thing, but have it anyway i guess? just something quick and dirty.

“this place is fuckin’ creepy, harrington,” billy scoffed, rubbing his hands together for warmth, “remind me again why i’m out here with you?”

steve let out a big sigh and stared up at the dark, starry sky above them, praying a higher power would execute him where he stood or would at least make billy  _ stop talking for five goddamn minutes. _

billy had been a thorn in his side for the past two and a half months and had only grown worse with each passing day. after nearly getting eaten by a pack of circling demodogs whilst picking max up from the byers’ one night, he’d been sucked into the upside down business, much to both steve and the kids’ dismay. 

billy was necessary muscle though, good with an axe, and he’d been  _ gradually _ acting better. at least by steve’s standards. he was  _ less _ of a dick to the kids, always minded his manners around joyce, didn’t push hop the way he used to after the chief made it very clear that if billy wasn’t on his best behavior he’d have no problem throwing him in a cell for the night to get him to calm down.

that’d happened after some stupid argument between him and steve, when billy was winding up and looked ready to knock steve down, pin his arms to the floor with his knees and literally beat the blood and snot out of him like before, and hop pulled him back by his collar and sucked the air out of the room when he put his finger in billy’s face.

steve, still on the floor and trying to catch his breath, looked up and saw that all the anger and heat had immediately flickered out of billy’s blue eyes the second hop grabbed him. something like fear settled in them instead and steve’s stomach twisted uncomfortably. something told him that billy was used to being pushed up against walls and threatened to mind himself, but it was never for a just reason.

after that, things had been going decently well between them even though billy still refused to believe that steve had any grip on what he was doing and was constantly on his ass about joining in on his rounds. they didn’t go out every night and they didn’t see things most of the time when they were out either, but regardless of how annoying billy was in thinking steve couldn’t take care of himself, regardless of whether or not there  _ was _ something out in the woods those nights, something about billy’s obnoxious presence made him feel safe.

steve stopped walking and turning around, nearly blinding billy with the flashlight and pulled a hiss out of the guy. “you’re out here because when i told you where i was going, you didn’t think i’d be able to handle it myself and decided to be a pain in my ass and tag along.”

“oh that’s right.” billy grinned wolfishly, then squinted and flapped his hands over his face, “jesus, get that shit out of my face.”

steve dropped the flashlight and watched with a smirk as billy rubbed his eyes a bit, then sent a scowl in his direction. smart ass should’ve kept his commentary to himself.

they walked for a few more minutes in silence, the only sounds the crunching leaves beneath their feet, the wind whistling through the upper stories of the trees, the occasional owl hooting or squirrel fussing about. if they weren’t on demodog duty, it would’ve been a nice area for a hike. 

steve had a walkie secured to his belt too, so the fear of getting lost didn’t weigh as heavily on his mind. neither of them lived in the immediate area and decided going straight through the woods was better than zig-zagging through and risking getting lost or, possibly, eaten.

they were walking on a steep incline up to where the top of the hill flattened out, marked by a large mossy log. just as they were climbing up the last few feet, something flew passed the log and made both boys freeze in their tracks. whatever it was, it barely made a noise as it rounded a circle of trees just to billy’s right. both of them stayed frozen, eyes wide as they stared at each other, then at the  _ thing _ .

steve gestured to it with the nailed tip of the bat, flicking off the flashlight for a moment as to not draw anymore attention to the two of them. it couldn’t have been a demodog, was much too small and quiet. with all the underbrush and pebbles on the forest floor, a demodog would’ve been making a good amount of noise to signify that it was there. this thing, whatever this thing  _ was _ , was nearly silent as it whizzed by them.

with just enough moonlight slipping in through the thicket of trees they were encompassed by, steve caught sight of the thing for about two seconds. it was black and wispy like a ball of inky smoke, small and from what he could tell, possibly floating. it was dripping something dark and tar-like from it’s base, like it’d been nabbed by something. he couldn’t imagine  _ how _ it could’ve been injured by something -- it was nearly translucent and just the slightest bit more opaque at center. 

in a flash though, it was gone. billy turned to him after a beat with his brows narrowed and nose wrinkled. he was holding the axe in a white knuckled grip but hadn’t raised it all, as it still hung out from his left side.

“what the  _ hell _ was that?” steve whispered. 

he started up the hill a little more, stopping at the log where more of the black, tar-like mess the smoke ball had dripped lay. it was thick and bubbly and completely encompassed the mass of moss it had dribbled on. slowly though, steve watched in wonder as some of the black fluid began to slowly dissipate into smoke. the moss under it remained untouched, other than suddenly being completely void of color. the areas where the drops had been wholly desaturated, like they’d grown in grayscale.

billy came up behind him then, just beyond his right shoulder but close enough that steve could smell the sweet musk of sweat and cologne that came off of him, nearly felt his breath on his neck. he let out a whistle as he watched as more of the liquid fizzled into smoke and drew the color of the moss out as it disintegrated.

steve shivered and billy stepped back a pace, looking at him for answers incredulously. 

“harrington, what the  _ hell  _ was that?” billy demanded, breathless.

“man, i have no fucking clue. i have  _ never  _ seen anything like that before -- that was something straight outta those weird fantasy books dustin’s always reading.”

“i’m not usually the guy to make any wild guesses,  _ but _ ,” billy flicked his chin toward the rounded thicket of trees where the smoke ball had disappeared, “i’m pretty sure  _ that, _ was a ghost.”

steve adjusted his footing so he could look down at billy and offer him a good condescending look, one that mirrored billy’s when max had swore to him steve kicked ass with a bat. 

“i’m pretty sure it’s not,” steve snorted, grinning when billy looked back up at him with an offended scowl. he swung the bat around a few times and peered up at the hill.

suddenly billy was close again, much closer than he’d been all night, and whispered, “oh really?” in steve’s ear like it was a challenge. he could’ve moved forward an inch more and taken steve’s earlobe between his teeth, tugged gently and pulled a moan out of him.

“ghosts don’t  _ bleed _ ,” steve said, voice hoarse and low as he gestured to the few remaining drops of blood still up on the log with his flashlight. he bit his lip as he felt billy shift up against his shoulder.

billy chuckled in his ear, then came around so he was standing in front of steve, one foot higher up than the other. steve let the flashlight fall to his side as he stared up at billy, his denim jacket open and the few buttons on the henley he wore underneath, completely unsnapped. there was a glimmer of sweat on his chest even though it was still cold enough outside they could see their breath in front of them.

“oh, silly me,” billy tutted, pointing his nose up with a finger and everything, “i don’t know then. we might as well mention it when we head back, though.”

steve nodded, still staring at the droplets of sweat situated in the line of billy’s pectorals. he looked like one of the guys on the covers of those awful romance novels he knew mrs. wheeler read, had seen them on the living room coffee table multiple times when he and nancy were still dating.

if billy was modeling for one of those god-awful book covers, right now he’d be on the cover of a post-apocalyptic love story or a sexed-up zombie thriller -- those had to exist, right? somewhere, some horny middle-aged mom probably got off on the idea of getting nailed in the woods by some toned, tan, axe-wielding guy that looked like billy, in the midst of a zombie takeover.

“why’re you lookin’ at me like that, harrington?” billy asked suddenly, taking a step down from the hill so he was a few inches taller than steve rather than a foot or two. “you afraid of ghosts, or whatever that shit was? you need me to protect you?”

he swung the axe around for good measure too, licking the seam of his lips as he did so. steve sucked his bottom lip in between his teeth.  _ fuck it _ , he thought, and flicked the flashlight off before setting it on a rock a foot away, propped the bat up against it, then he was up in billy’s space, wiping that playful, toothy grin off his face as he crowded him against the cracking trunk of a black ash. billy dropped the axe with a heavy  _ thunk  _ the second his back touched the wood.

“the only thing i need protecting from out here,  _ hargrove _ ,” steve murmured, his big brown eyes locking with billy’s icy blue irises even in the shadow of the tree, “is you.”

he caged billy in with both hands against the dry, rough trunk supporting billy’s broad shoulders. he caught the way the guy’s eyebrows shot up, teasing and dangerous, when he leaned in and nipped at billy’s stubbled jaw, dragged teeth down his neck. billy hissed and tentatively settled his big, cool hands on steve’s hips,  _ finally _ , slipped his knee between steve’s legs and pulled him in closer.

“you’re damn right about that,” billy said, strained. 

steve’s lips momentarily left billy’s neck and he pulled back, revelling in the feeling of billy’s fingers digging into his hip bones under his cotton tee and the hesitant press of his leg between steve’s. he chuckled a bit, heart hammering away, watching billy’s lips part and his sinful tongue made another appearance, wetting his bottom lip.

breath ghosting over billy’s mouth, cheeks heating, steve leaned in closer, muttered, “good thing i don’t want rescuing,” before slotting his lips against the blond’s.


End file.
